France to recognise Palestinian state at UN general assembly, Macron says
The French president announced the decision on X on Thursday evening, saying he hoped it would bring peace to the region.
Macron published a letter sent to Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, confirming France's intention to become the first major western power to recognise a Palestinian state.
'True to its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognise the State of Palestine,' Macron said.
'I will make this solemn announcement at the United Nations General Assembly next September.'
The decision is likely to spark anger in Israel and Washington. In a diplomatic cable in June, the US said it opposed any steps that would unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state.
More details to follow …
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Western Telegraph
20 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Vance: UK and US have disagreements over Gaza but share common goal
Appearing alongside the Foreign Secretary on Friday, the vice-president confirmed Washington had 'no plans' to recognise Palestine – which Britain has pledged to do unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire. Mr Vance, who has previously accused the UK of retreating from democratic values, struck a more positive chord as he spoke of his 'love' for the country during a visit to Chevening, Mr Lammy's official country retreat in Kent. David Lammy welcomed JD Vance to Chevening House (PA) He heaped praise on his 'good friend' the Foreign Secretary, and said Britain and the US should work together to 'bring greater peace' to the world as the two countries 'have a lot in common'. However, he made clear that there were differences of opinion between the two administrations on how to address the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Asked by reporters at the top of a bilateral meeting with Mr Lammy what he thought of the UK's plans to recognise Palestine, Mr Vance said: 'Obviously, the United Kingdom is going to make its decision. 'We have no plans to recognise the Palestinian state. I don't know what it would mean to really recognise a Palestinian state given the lack of functional government there.' Mr Vance said there may be 'disagreements' between the two administrations over Gaza (Suzanne Plunkett/PA) He said both sides wanted to 'solve that problem' of the crisis in Gaza, but 'may have some disagreements about how exactly to accomplish that goal, and we'll talk about that today'. 'There's a lot of common objectives here. There is some, I think, disagreement about how exactly to accomplish those common objectives, but look, it's a tough situation,' he said. 'Of course, we're not going to know exactly how to solve a very complicated problem.' Despite coming from differing political backgrounds, Mr Vance and Mr Lammy are said to have developed a personal rapport, bonding over their difficult childhoods and Christian faith. Mr Vance visited Chevening while on holiday in the Cotswolds with his family, who joined him and the Foreign Secretary to go carp fishing at the countryside estate on Friday. The two men went carp fishing at Chevening on Friday (Suzanne Plunkett/PA) 'Unfortunately, the one strain on the special relationship is that all of my kids caught fish, but the Foreign Secretary did not,' the vice-president said. 'It is great to be here… my wife and I love this section, this area of the UK and we were actually here a couple of years ago… so we love this country. 'Just on a personal note, I have to say that I really have become a good friend, and David has become a good friend of mine, and so it's great to spend some time here with him… you've been a very, very gracious host to me and the whole family.' Asked about the criticism he has previously directed at the UK over issues like freedom of speech, he claimed his concerns related more widely to 'the entire collective West'. In February, Mr Vance claimed that a 'backslide away from conscience rights has placed the basic liberties of religious Britons' under threat, and attacked the use of laws to enforce buffer zones around abortion clinics. More recently, the vice-president has appeared to take aim at Britain's international standing as well as its home affairs. A real pleasure to welcome my friend @JDVance and his family to Chevening. Before beginning our bilateral, the Vice President gave me fishing tips, Kentucky style. The special relationship makes the UK and the US stronger, safer and better off. — David Lammy (@DavidLammy) August 8, 2025 As the UK and France led European efforts to secure a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, he questioned the level of security that could be offered by 'some random country that hasn't fought a war in 30 or 40 years'. He later denied the comments had related to either the UK or France following a backlash from British politicians and ex-soldiers. Speaking on Friday, Mr Vance said: 'I've raised concerns about free speech in the United States of America. 'I think the entire collective West, the transatlantic relationship, our Nato allies, certainly the United States under the Biden administration, got a little too comfortable with censoring rather than engaging with a diverse array of opinions. 'So that's been my view. Obviously, I've raised some criticism and concerns about our friends on this side of the Atlantic, but the thing that I say to the people of England, or anybody else, to David, is many of the things that I worry most about were happening in the United States from 2020 to 2024. 'I just don't want other countries to follow us down what I think is a very dark path under the Biden administration.' Mr Lammy said 'commonalities and differences' in political debate were part of the 'joy of living in a democracy like ours'. 'But, you know, there are areas where there are actually joint concern, we both have a joint concern about outcomes for working people, that is the truth of it,' he said. 'And we have also discussed issues like irregular and illegal migration and how we deal with those issues. 'So there are commonalities and there are differences and that is the joy of living in democracies like ours.'
North Wales Chronicle
21 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Vance: UK and US have disagreements over Gaza but share common goal
Appearing alongside the Foreign Secretary on Friday, the vice-president confirmed Washington had 'no plans' to recognise Palestine – which Britain has pledged to do unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire. Mr Vance, who has previously accused the UK of retreating from democratic values, struck a more positive chord as he spoke of his 'love' for the country during a visit to Chevening, Mr Lammy's official country retreat in Kent. He heaped praise on his 'good friend' the Foreign Secretary, and said Britain and the US should work together to 'bring greater peace' to the world as the two countries 'have a lot in common'. However, he made clear that there were differences of opinion between the two administrations on how to address the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Asked by reporters at the top of a bilateral meeting with Mr Lammy what he thought of the UK's plans to recognise Palestine, Mr Vance said: 'Obviously, the United Kingdom is going to make its decision. 'We have no plans to recognise the Palestinian state. I don't know what it would mean to really recognise a Palestinian state given the lack of functional government there.' He said both sides wanted to 'solve that problem' of the crisis in Gaza, but 'may have some disagreements about how exactly to accomplish that goal, and we'll talk about that today'. 'There's a lot of common objectives here. There is some, I think, disagreement about how exactly to accomplish those common objectives, but look, it's a tough situation,' he said. 'Of course, we're not going to know exactly how to solve a very complicated problem.' Despite coming from differing political backgrounds, Mr Vance and Mr Lammy are said to have developed a personal rapport, bonding over their difficult childhoods and Christian faith. Mr Vance visited Chevening while on holiday in the Cotswolds with his family, who joined him and the Foreign Secretary to go carp fishing at the countryside estate on Friday. 'Unfortunately, the one strain on the special relationship is that all of my kids caught fish, but the Foreign Secretary did not,' the vice-president said. 'It is great to be here… my wife and I love this section, this area of the UK and we were actually here a couple of years ago… so we love this country. 'Just on a personal note, I have to say that I really have become a good friend, and David has become a good friend of mine, and so it's great to spend some time here with him… you've been a very, very gracious host to me and the whole family.' Asked about the criticism he has previously directed at the UK over issues like freedom of speech, he claimed his concerns related more widely to 'the entire collective West'. In February, Mr Vance claimed that a 'backslide away from conscience rights has placed the basic liberties of religious Britons' under threat, and attacked the use of laws to enforce buffer zones around abortion clinics. More recently, the vice-president has appeared to take aim at Britain's international standing as well as its home affairs. A real pleasure to welcome my friend @JDVance and his family to Chevening. Before beginning our bilateral, the Vice President gave me fishing tips, Kentucky style. The special relationship makes the UK and the US stronger, safer and better off. — David Lammy (@DavidLammy) August 8, 2025 As the UK and France led European efforts to secure a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, he questioned the level of security that could be offered by 'some random country that hasn't fought a war in 30 or 40 years'. He later denied the comments had related to either the UK or France following a backlash from British politicians and ex-soldiers. Speaking on Friday, Mr Vance said: 'I've raised concerns about free speech in the United States of America. 'I think the entire collective West, the transatlantic relationship, our Nato allies, certainly the United States under the Biden administration, got a little too comfortable with censoring rather than engaging with a diverse array of opinions. 'So that's been my view. Obviously, I've raised some criticism and concerns about our friends on this side of the Atlantic, but the thing that I say to the people of England, or anybody else, to David, is many of the things that I worry most about were happening in the United States from 2020 to 2024. 'I just don't want other countries to follow us down what I think is a very dark path under the Biden administration.' Mr Lammy said 'commonalities and differences' in political debate were part of the 'joy of living in a democracy like ours'. 'But, you know, there are areas where there are actually joint concern, we both have a joint concern about outcomes for working people, that is the truth of it,' he said. 'And we have also discussed issues like irregular and illegal migration and how we deal with those issues. 'So there are commonalities and there are differences and that is the joy of living in democracies like ours.'
ITV News
32 minutes ago
- ITV News
JD Vance says UK and US 'have a lot in common' as he starts UK trip
JD Vance has begun his UK holiday with a visit to the Foreign Secretary's country retreat at Chevening in Kent. The US vice president arrived on Friday morning with his wife and three children to meet David Lammy, who said he would be discussing the " developing situation in Gaza" and the ongoing war in Ukraine with Vance during the visit. The two men went carp fishing in a pond near the 17th-century house, and are understood to have caught some fish. The Grade I-listed Chevening has traditionally acted as the foreign secretary's country residence, but the prime minister can nominate any of his cabinet colleagues to use the house. Sitting alongside the US vice-president at the start of a bilateral meeting at Chevening House, the Foreign Secretary said: "Of course we will be discussing the developing situation in Gaza, which is a great concern, and of course the ongoing war in Ukraine, and the desire to see that come to an end." Friday's meeting comes at a time of persistent global uncertainty, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggesting an expansion of his country's campaign in Gaza and Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly preparing to meet US President Donald Trump in the coming days. During the meeting, JD Vance said the US has "no plans" to recognise a state of Palestine, adding, "I don't know what it would mean to really recognise a Palestinian state, given the lack of functional government there." He said that the US government's two goals are "very simple", saying: "Number one, it's we want to make it so that Hamas cannot attack innocent Israeli civilians ever again, and we think that has to come through the eradication of Hamas. "Second, the president has been very moved by these terrible images of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, so we want to make sure that we solve that problem. "I think all of us can work on how to solve that problem. Obviously, it's not an easy problem to solve, or it would have already been dealt with, but we share, I think, that focus and that goal. We may have some disagreements about how exactly to accomplish that goal, and we'll talk about that today." From Westminster to Washington DC - our political experts are across all the latest key talking points. Listen to the latest episode below...
